The Exorcist

Original

Extended Cut

Blu-ray

Back in 1973, a film was released that would change the moviegoer’s
expectations of how a film should scare them. A simple story of a little girl
possessed by evil would forever raise the bar on the horror genre. The Exorcist
was this film. On the surface, it was a pair of priests Father Karras (Jason
Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) fighting to drive out a demon from
sweet little Reagan (Linda Blair). The themes of good versus evil run far deeper
in this tale providing the film with far greater depth than any previous horror
flick. Reagan’s mom Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is a famous actress, she has
the world in her hand and is used to getting her way. Separated from the father
of her daughter she finds that her personal life is not as easy to control as
her professional one. Still, that unfortunately normal personal set back was not
able to prepare her for what was to come. Her daughter starts to act unusually.
She urinates on the carpet during a cocktail party, speaks to a strange
imaginary friend and in general acts as if she is completely not herself. Now
they would probably just load the kid up with Prozac. Chris takes Reagan to
every notable doctor possible, and all they can consider is to seek out a priest
for the ancient rite of exorcism. Of course, by now the scenes of horror are
indelibly ingrained in our collective consciousness. The head spinning, the
vomiting and the levitation of the bed all have become more than special
effects; they are part of film history. With such a classic film one would have
to ask the question ‘How could anyone dare to change it?’ With alternations that
supersede any George Lucas has made in the Star Wars series the producers of the
Exorcist have dared to tamper with history. Numerous additions have been added
to the so-called ‘Director’s Cut’ makes additions that were originally left on
the cutting room floor, left there for very good reasons. The infamous ‘Spider
walk’ scene where Reagan descends the stairs upside-down, crab style does
nothing to advance the plot and ruins the pacing of the film. The ending change
to more focus on the medal the priest always wore and replaces a concise
resolution to the film with ramblings. To be honest, the additional material
with the extensive medical tests does help to set up the scene between the
doctors and the mother. Still, the additional material slows the wonderful
pacing of the original with a film overburdened with unnecessary material.

The casting and acting of this film are what legends are made of. Young Linda
Blair moves with ease between the innocent girl with a demon bent on destroying
the lives around her. While not her first film this was the one that made her,
at the tender age of 14, a household name. Burstyn displayed her usual
professionalism in this film. She displays the arc of a mother going from loving
to concern and eventually to the brink of madness herself. Miller almost
underplays his role as the younger priest. In this case that was the best
possible decision. His Karras is a man burnt out, losing grip on not only his
relationship with his terminal mother both also on his faith. Von Sydow was at
the top of his game here. He portrays Merrin perfectly. He is a man devoted to
his religion, having now shades of gray in his faith. It is only this
determination that permits him to face such powerful evil even at the cost of
his life.

William Friedkin as the director and William Peter Blatty, the writer, has
come to grips with a lot of disagreement over the presentation of this film. In
the two separate commentaries presented in the original DVD release demonstrated
the different viewpoints, the two men had over this film that would cement their
careers. The first cut Friedkin presented to the studio was 140 minutes long,
but Blatty preferred it but later deferred to the studio suites to trim it to
about two hours. Friedkin preferred the shorter cut often stating the pacing of
the film required a trimmed down the script. I have to go with the director on
this one. In the original the film moved along, sweeping the audience into the
story. Now, you may find yourself saying, "That’s different," detracted from the
intent of the story. This is not a film about the special effects; the original
list of effects maintained the pace and expanded the understanding of the
audience. Friedkin knows how to frame a scene. He has a natural eye for the
correct balance between focus on the actors and detail to the set design without
producing clutter. The color palette he uses reflects the emotional drive of the
film. It is often dark and forbidding producing a strange twist on reality. Of
course, the Tubular Bells soundtrack was cutting edge for 1973. It still holds
its own able to underscore the sinister themes with a soundtrack that still
haunts us today.

Like many classic films, this cinematic masterpiece has been re-mastered for
presentation in high definition Blu-ray. The definitive box set in this format
has been released, and the bottom line is it makes the perfect horror film even
better than ever. While a build in feature DVD and Blu-ray was invented for this
situation, seamless branching does extract a price. It takes up room on the disc
to store the differences in the film. Although this is not a serious
consideration considering the 50gig capacity of Blu-ray Warner Brothers did this
release correctly devoting an entire disc for both the theatrical and director’s
cuts. Each version of the film was re-mastered and presented with its bonus
features and extras. It comes to this conclusion a lot when watching an old
favorite on Blu-ray, but it truly is like seeing the movie for the first time;
even better than seeing it as a fresh release in the theater. What is most
evident is the vastly increased level of detail. In the opening scene at the
dig, you can almost feel the dirt in the air as you get to see the pebbles on
the ground and the contrast between the deep blue sky and the browns and grays
of the ground. You never could appreciate the expertise of the costume creator
until ever fold, and texture of the fabric is visible. The colors are more
vibrant than you would have thought possible. The DTS MA HD audio is
spectacular. The DVD had a rather flat soundstage, but here the audio opens up
the film. You can hear the extras in the shot of them filming the movie as
distinct voices. When Reagan is in her bedroom the sound’s focus slides around
the room making the result even more frightening and disorienting than ever.

Features:Disc 1: Extended Director's Cut
New 3-Part Documentary on the Movie’s Production and Legacy
Raising Hell: Filming The ExorcistThe Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now
Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist
Commentary by Director William Friedkin

Disc 2: Original 1973 Theatrical Version
2 Commentaries
Introduction by William Friedkin
Feature-Length 1998 Documentary The Fear of God: The Making of
interview Gallery Covering the Topics: The Original Cut, The Final Reckoning,
and Stairway to Heaven
Original Ending